Recent applications in analytical thermochemolysis

This review outlines and discusses the recent development of thermochemolysis (or thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM)) since the review paper by Challinor in this journal in 2001. The concept and practice of thermochemolysis using quaternary ammonium base reagents, e.g., tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), is given. The application review is categorized based on either the class of compounds, or popular sample types, e.g., soils, pollen etc. using thermochemolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Quantitative analysis, a relatively new aspect of thermochemolysis, is discussed separately, where appropriate, at the end of some of application sections. The wide variety of applications includes synthetic polymers, lipids, materials in art and conservation, lignin, carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids, flavonoids, soil/sediments, atmosphere particulates, human samples, and others. A section is devoted to chemometric techniques and data analysis of thermochemolysis products.